As of January 1, 2024, Walt Disney will lose the copyright to the first version of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, two of the American entertainment giant's most famous characters. The reason for this is that 96 years have passed since Mickey and Minnie Mouse – those are their original names – first appeared in the 1928 film “Steamboat Willie.” In fact, American law stipulates that copyright is limited only to works created after 1923, which are protected for a certain period of time. Until the last century, the expected lifespan was 75 years. And it was Disney that fought for an extension along with other industry giants. So much so that the provision that came into force in 1998 – the Copyright Term Extension Act – was renamed by the American media as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.
This is how termination for copyright infringement works
In fact, Mickey Mouse will no longer be in the public domain starting in 2024. In fact, the expiration of copyright only affects the first version, while Disney retains control over subsequent and better-known editions. If you want to use Mickey Mouse, you have to recreate the character in black and white, as designed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1928. We must also be careful not to use some details added later by the American company, starting with the famous clothing with red shorts, white gloves and yellow shoes. The use of one or more of these items remains prohibited. But there is still great enthusiasm among copyright experts: Jennifer Jenkins, director of the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain, considers the end of the rights to the first Mickey Mouse to be “a historic milestone.” Over the past few decades, Disney has consistently stood out as one of the most intransigent companies when it comes to copyright, becoming the protagonist of numerous legal battles to maintain exclusive control over all of its characters and products.
Other works are being phased out
The first Mickey Mouse isn't the only character whose rights expire on January 1, 2024. Other famous works that will no longer have copyright include Bertolt's The Threepenny Opera, Brecht's Lady Chatterley's Lover by David Herbert Lawrence, some Winnie the Pooh stories, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the films “The Circus” by Charlie Chaplin and “The Cameraman” by Buster Keaton as well as some music from “I Wanna Beloved By”. you,” the song that made Marilyn Monroe famous in “Some Like It Hot.”
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